Fears about the safety of abducted Katy ISD police officer Rachel Hillsman are escalating as disturbing new details are coming to light about her kidnapping by former boyfriend and fellow school district police officer Julio Reyes.
During an early-morning briefing at the Brookshire Police Department, Waller County Sheriff Glenn Smith said investigators have developed new information that show Reyes’ apparent planning for the abduction.
REYES AND HILLSMAN
“We know it was premeditated; we know he planned and prepared for it,” Smith said.
Smith said his deputies have learned Reyes purchased a number of “items” from area stores that strongly suggest he planned to kidnap Hillsman the day prior to the actual abduction. He would not say what those items were.
It was also learned Reyes and Hillsman had a “major argument” the day before the kidnapping during which Reyes made threats against Hillsman. Hillsman spent the night at her mother’s Waller County home rather than her residence because of the argument.
Smith said deputies believe Reyes ambushed Hillsman as she exited the gate of her mother’s home at around 6 a.m. Tuesday. She was in uniform and on her way to work her regularly-assigned shift at the Katy ISD Police Department.
Hillsman’s two children, ages 7 and 13 months, were in her car at the time of the kidnapping. They were uninjured and left behind in the vehicle.
Reyes is reportedly the father of the 13-month-old. The 7-year-old is from a previous relationship.
Smith said although Hillsman and Reyes were at one time romantically involved – a relationship that produced the younger child – they had not been together since last November.
The older child told deputies Hillsman struggled to escape but was physically restrained by Reyes. She may have been handcuffed.
Blood was reportedly found in her car.
A warrant has been issued for Reyes, charging him with aggravated kidnapping. Roadblocks have been set up throughout Waller County in an effort to locate the fugitive police officer and his victim. Smith said he believes the two “may still be in the area.”
Reyes is reported to be heavily armed with an AR-15 assault rifle, a pistol and a Taser. A Katy ISD spokesman yesterday could not confirm whether the weapons belong to the school district police department.
Hillsman has been with the Katy ISD Police Department since January of 2006. Reyes has been with the department since May of 1999.
The pair was last seen at the abduction site on FM 1458 in Waller County as Reyes forced Hillsman into his pickup truck. The truck is described as a 2002 green Ford Super Duty pickup truck bearing Texas license 87V-DP7.
The truck was last seen heading toward Austin County.
A $25,000 reward has been offered for information that leads to locating Hillsman and the arrest of Reyes. Waller County Crime Stoppers is providing $5,000, with the remaining $20,000 coming from private donations.
By: John Pape on Wed, Aug 19, 2009
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